Poisoned
by ClarissaAisling
Summary: "It was a Raum demon poisoning. The most beautifully described textbook case of Raum poisoning, diagrams and all. Magnus needed to get Alec home."
1. Part I - Sacrificial Protection

**This is a short chaptered story. Magnus x Alec  
(Yes, I've changed it slightly, coz I realised that this storyline's gonna span a few weeks at least). **

**~ClarissaAisling**

* * *

"Be careful." Magnus whispered in Alec's ear.

Alec was busy getting his gear on, having just received a call minutes ago. Maryse had called his cell phone, informing him of a horde of Eidolon Demons near the Brooklyn Riverside. Upon receiving the call, he had rolled over, trying not to wake the sleeping warlock, and had quickly gotten dressed.

Before he had a chance to grab his bow and sling his quiver over his shoulder, Magnus had taken a hold of his arm and dragged him down, and whispered for him to be careful. Then he had released his hold, and Alec quickly opened the door, and shut it with a quiet click.

* * *

He had cast a glamour-charm on him, and as he walked out into the blizzard that had hit, he stopped to draw a heat-rune on his arm. The black lines swirled from under the tip of his stele, forming a complex pattern on his arm. After the rune had been completed, he instantly felt the effects of it. He glanced up at the grey sky, and rubbed both his hands together.

After half and hour, he had gotten to the position Maryse had pinpointed. He took out his seraph blade, and tiptoed to where he could hear cursing and yelling.

Jace.

His blonde hair was mussed up, perspiration dripping down his grimy face. He held a blazing seraph blade in his left-hand, the colour reflecting his eyes. He had probably been tracking the Eidolon Demon for some time, but without success. It was hard to find one, as Eidolons could shape shift into innocent mundanes.

" _Jace!"_ Alec yelled.

Jace whipped around, a smirk cresting his face. That then turned into a suspicious frown, as he realized that this could possibly be the demon that shape shifted. He held a seraph blade level to Alec's face, and warned him to _back off._ Alec held both hands up in surrender, and backed down.

"Ok. Whoa. Hang it." He took a deep breath. "I've got a scar on my left wrist. Um. You came when I was ten, and you never talked much. You only warmed to me when I threw a perfect shot with a dagger at a hundred paces. Let's see. Clary is the only girl who you've so had more than one look at. Right, Maryse –"

Jace lowered his blade and took a step forward. He had an almost-murderous look on his face, but the effect was ruined with the blush on his cheeks.

"Ok, ok, I believe you. And. How did you know about Clary!"

Alec raised one eyebrow. "Dude, I'm your _brother_ , of course I would realize. Like, you were all over her like a coat of paint." He sniggered, and realized it was probably not the best thing he could have done when Jace was in a killer mood.

"Right, Jace," he said, trying to fix a sober expression on his face, and failing miserably, "I think we should get back to the Eidolon before something bad happens."

The smirk was gone from his face like a candle being blown out. Behind Jace's shoulder, he could see a charging demon. He took a step forwards and shoved Jace out of the way. He took out two double-edged seraph blades, Gabriel and Camael.

He threw one at the demon, and the Eidolon took the blade in the side. That slowed its rush, but the demon simply picked up its pace again. Alec held the blade in his right, jumped up, and opened a deep gash in the demon's leg.

"Duck!" Jace yelled.

A brilliance of white-gold light spun through the air, and embedded itself squarely in the center of its torso. There was no time for a respite, as the remaining members of the pack of demons were coming at them.

"Jace! Back-to-back! Circular!"

The alleyway was a blur of flashing blades and speeding arrows. They worked in their most efficient formation, the two brothers back-to-back, slowly rotating in a circular movement. Each had their own sort of power, Jace had around him a golden blaze of angelic fury, eyes alight with a fire that only came when he was out hunting demons. He could strike down someone, as an angel would, and then vanish in a burst of light.

Alec's was different. He had the unique feeling of flames, accented by his blue eyes, glowing a neon blue. He gave out the message that _no one_ was to mess with anyone he loved. It was as seems that he had a wall of flames that licked and burnt anyone who came near, as he would stand in the center of the ring, his whole body glowing.

* * *

Jace and Alec dropped to the floor, panting and groaning. Each had gotten a variety of wounds and bruises, and after the adrenaline had stopped coursing through their veins, they were stone dead tired.

Alec saw it first: A Raum demon, crouching just on the ledge, high above where they were sprawled on the ground. A second, and it would jump, whipping its tentacles in the way of its prey.

He had only seconds.

He rolled over on his back, and landed on top of Jace, arms outstretched, Gabriel in his hands. He closed his eyes and steeled himself for the feel of acrid acid, and the skull-cracking force of the tentacles striking.

The Raum demon jumped, straight onto the path of the blazing seraph blade. It ruptured the demon's lungs, but not before it could strike at its prey. Alec heard ringing in his head, and he could feel his skin bubbling lightly, a result of the acid on the tentacles. He seemed unable to get air into his lungs, and blackness was swarming in his head.

Dimly, he berated himself. We should have checked, he reflected. That was the last thought he had before he blacked out.

* * *

 _Revieeeeeeeewsssssssssssss~! Otherwise I will come and haunt you in your sleep~!_

Nah. Reviews/Favs/Follows are love~!

Will update a week or so from now.


	2. Part II - Diagnosis

**Okay. Here's the second chapter.**

 **I've changed it to a chaptered story because I realised there's gonna be much more to this than originally planned.**

 **Enjoy~! _ClarissaAisling_**

* * *

Jace sensed, rather than felt, the roll-and-dive that Alec did to save his brother. A split-second later, the only thing he could see was Alec's hair, and on top of him, and the Raum demon that was just about to kill him, if not for Alec's intervention.

He pushed Alec's still body off him, drawing back his arm, with his dagger in his hand. He gripped the blade of the dagger, felt the weight of the weapon, and in one fluid motion, sighted, aimed and propelled the dagger towards the escaping demon.

A perfect shot. As the demon turned, Jace's dagger punctured its heart, the black ichor spilling onto the surroundings. Then, it just disappeared, back into Pandemonium, the homeland of all demons.

Jace rushed to Alec's side, trying to stem the flow of blood that the demon's tentacles had caused. He fumbled in Alec's pocket for his phone, and quickly dialed Magnus.

* * *

Magnus was worried. Alec had been gone for many hours, and while he knew that this was the life of a Shadowhunter, he still could not help feeling anxious.

His phone rang, and it was Alec's number. Relief washed over him. If Alec could call back, he shouldn't be too heavily injured.

"Alec! Where –"

Jace interrupted him in mid-flow. "I need you at Long Island, at the Riverhead. Alec's covered in acid burns, and he's got broken ribs. On top of that, he has a large gash in his calf, and the tendons seem to be injured. He's already lost consciousness, and I have yet to know whether he's poisoned. It was a Raum demon."

The colour drained from Magnus' face. He knew that it was only a Raum demon, but if the demon had chose to release the deadly poison, which it rarely did, the chances of survival was almost non-existent, if a warlock could not get to him in time.

He threw on a jacket, the closest he could find. He wouldn't have time to worry about his fashion choices. Alec was in pain, and he needed him. He cleared a space in the middle of the living room, shoving aside stacks of paperwork and contracts. Magnus closed his eyes, and raised his arms, sketching a pattern of words, the script to the opening of a Portal.

A blue glow emanated from his fingers, and a Portal slowly unfolded. He stepped into it without hesitation.

He landed close to the alleyways next to Jace, and hurriedly put on a glamour charm to hide him from the mundanes. He called out to Jace, and was able to track him to where he was pressing down on the gash on Alec's calf.

He felt Alec's forehead, and with a frown, he continued to check other various places for any sign of injury.

"Jace. You need to go somewhere I can't see you, to avoid me getting distracted. Also, contact Maryse and Isabelle. They should know what happened. You can fill them in with the details."

He was worried; terrified that Alec had been poisoned. The chances were slim, but it could still have happened. He felt around his ribs, and with an iron will of concentration, he pulled all the magic he had together, and transferred it to the still bleeding gash.

The flesh slowly stitched itself together, and soon the top layer of skin was back into position. The ribs bent and unbent, then mended itself, and the bruises around it receded as his glowing hands moved over. Then, he worked on healing the acid burns, his fingers moving tenderly on Alec's face.

The burns were the worse, and the acid had eaten through most of Alec's clothes, and it already started bleeding into his skin. Through experience, Magnus knew that the longer it took for the acid to be sucked out; the more blisters and burns Alec would be left with.

With his hands pressed on Alec's face, and the blue glow of his fingers started to neutralize and evaporate the acid, showing through the pale white of Alec's cheeks. Magnus collected his concentration, and worked through the rest of Alec's skin.

But something was still wrong.

Alec was rolling and muttering feverishly, and although his eyes were open, he seemed not to recognize Magnus. His eyes were clouded, and perspiration was dripping over his face and onto the ground. His hair was matted with grime, and he looked like he was in pain.

He was moaning, and Alec suddenly leapt into a seizure, which looked like as if all his muscles were cramping. Small whimpering sounds were coming out, and Magnus felt his heart sink to the bottom of his feet. A small trickle of blood was dripping out of the corner of Alec's mouth. He also seemed to be having hallucinations, seemingly to be swatting away Magnus' hand.

It was a Raum demon poisoning. The most beautifully described textbook case of Raum poisoning, diagrams and all.

Magnus needed to get Alec home.

* * *

"Jace!" The sound of footsteps came closer and closer, until he could see the sunlight framing the boy's face.

"I need to get Alec home. He's got the most beautiful case of Raum poisoning. Symptoms start from 1 hour to 2 hours, mild hallucinations start, and life-threatening ones at 4. Raum poison is the fastest acting poison of all types.

"I'm going to open up a Portal and get him home. Do whatever you like, but don't come near my house. If Alec recovers quickly, he will be the luckiest Shadowhunter of all time, but you can prepare for three or four weeks of just sitting and watching over him."

Assuming Jace understood, Magnus walked up, breathed a quick prayer to Raziel, and stepped through the Portal.

* * *

 **Right. [Inserts incredibly shameless begging for reviews]**

 **As usual, Reviews/Favs/Follows are love~!**

 **The next update may take a bit longer, still have to plan out a few chapters and such.**


	3. Part III - Antidotes and Toxins

**Ok, sorry for not posting earlier, I've got quite a lot of stuff these days XD**

 **~ClarissaAisling **inserts incredibly shameless review begging****

* * *

Stepping back into his apartment, Magnus quickly shoved papers, clothes and Chairman Meow to make room for Alec. Magnus grabbed an inflatable pillow, and tenderly put it under Alec's head.

Not a step could be missed in this procedure. Every move that Magnus made had to be precise. Making the antidote was a borderline between saving the Shadowhunter, and potentially killing him.

Laying his "Poisons and Venoms" Codex down, he set about gathering the ingredients. A bottle of Acacia juice, a Rhubarb root, and ginger slices, a strip of Costmary, crushed Frankincense, and more. He had all ingredients laid out.

Concentrating hard, he pushed down the fear and uncertainty inside of him, emptied his mind, and set to work.

Half an hour had passed, and his magic was drained down to the dregs. He sat back on his heels, doubt wriggling away at him like a worm. He had never made antidotes of this level. People would usually be crippled by the venom, and with the strength of the hallucinations, lose their minds and collapse before they had the chance to reach his apartment.

He fumbled on the floor for his phone and called Jace.

"Jace! I'm going to bring Alec back to the Institute? At the rate the poison is going, Alec's gonna have to spend a few weeks just in bed, if he is the lucky 1%, which is ridiculously impossible. I'll portal over. Also, I need to ask Maryse if I can give him the anti –", he swallowed "Antidote."

"We'll be ready." Came Jace's voice through the speaker.

* * *

Minutes later, carrying Alec by the legs and torso, and levitating the remedy in the air, Magnus stepped through yet another Portal, and landed at the front steps of the Institute.

"Jace!" The door opened without hesitation, and he quickly and carefully passed the vial to the figure that appeared at the door. Isabelle. Her eyes widened as she saw her brother, but composed herself, and quickly got into the lift.

Alec looked awful. He was feverish, and on closer inspection, his pupils had dilated to around two times its original size. Jace had already explained what had happened, and they were just waiting for Maryse, as she herself had been out on negotiations.

Magnus waved his hands in Isabelle's face, and it snapped her out of her reverie. She pulled out her cell phone with shaking hands, and dialed for her mom.

"Mom! Where –" Pounding footsteps echoed, and she quickly ended her call.

A figure appeared in the doorway. "I'm here. I –" She rushed forwards towards Alec, and in her haste, almost knocked Simon out. Motherly instincts flicked on, and she quickly put the back of her hand to Alec's forehead.

Isabelle knew her mother, and she could see that Maryse was about to panic. She needed to know, and it needed to be brief.

"Mom." Maryse turned to her. "A Raum demon poisoning. Magnus has got the antidote, but he needs to have your permission. He –" And was interrupted by Magnus. She was about to draw breath to give a retort, but seeing the uneasiness in Magnus' stance, she subsided.

"Maryse. I will be frank. I have never created this sort of antidote in my entire life. I do not know what effects it may have. The poison is incredibly rare, and I only have help of a Codex of an unknown origin. But it was all I had. Most people never make it to the stage of getting the cure, so a lot of it is unprecedented. I need you to either say yes, or no."

"Well, it's not like there are many options." Maryse gave a quivering laugh. "Something is always better than nothing. We – you'll do it."

* * *

 **Reviews/Favs/Follows are love~!**

 **Reeeeviewwwwws pleeeeeaaaseeeee **pouts****

 **Cookies for them nice folks who review~! (::) (::)**


	4. Part IV - Blackout

**So sorry to all the readers, I had an odd case of writer's block, had completely no idea where this story was heading up to. I honestly don't plan these in advance, and I just go along the flow here.**

 ****I WILL WRITE THIS HERE: _IT IS NOT AMNESIA._ I WOULD PREFER IF REVIEWS DIDN'T COME IN ABOUT THE VERY UNORIGINAL-NESS (** is that a word? **) OF IT.****

 ****INSERTS INCREDIBLY SHAMELESS REVIEW BEGGING****

 **~ClarissaAisling**

* * *

A blue flame crackled below the vial, smoking the glass a blackened colour.

"Jace. Simon. I need you to hold down Alec, because this," Magnus said, gesturing to the vial, "Will be hot. Not scalding, but hot. And in his delirious state, he may just take a swipe at me."

Without arguing, Jace secured his hands, pinning down Alec's ankles. Simon lay down beneath the wheel-able bed and pulled both of Alec's arms down.

He turned to Isabelle and Clary. "One of you will need to lift Alec's torso up, and one will need to help, if needed, to massage the muscles in his neck to make the liquid go down easier."

"Maryse, you pour the vial, slowly, when I say so. I need to heat the vial up slightly, and I'll need to bring Alec's temperature down slightly, for the antidote to have a maximum effect."

In the meantime, Isabelle sat, back-to-back with Alec, effectively moving Alec into an inclined position, tucking her legs in to avoid kicking Simon in the face. She held on to the edge of the bed, praying that Simon would be able to keep Alec's arms from flailing about.

Alec suddenly cramped, and it brought everyone's attention back to the urgency of giving him the antidote.

"Right. Ok. Positions, everyone?" Magnus tried to give them a reassuring look, but everyone, especially him, was nowhere near comforted. Max, upon hearing the ruckus, came running in, took one look at his brother and the very tense Magnus, and realizing that he shouldn't distract the others, obediently sat down to one side.

"Here goes. Maryse." He took a breath, passed the vial to Maryse, pulled his magic together, and directed it towards Alec, a steady stream of azure blue. Like a blanket, it enveloped Alec, and everyone touching Alec could feel that the temperature had been dropped down a few degrees.

"Pour it slowly down. Clary, be ready." Steadying his shaking hands, he watched as Maryse uncorked the vial, gently pulled Alec's jaw open, and poured it down. Clary stood, leaning slightly forward, standing on the balls of her feet, in case she was needed.

Alec jerked, and almost took Jace in the face. Jace muttered something unintelligible, and pressed down harder. Simon quickly secured his legs around a steady table leg, letting his body weight pull Alec's hand down, but not enough for them to come out of their sockets.

Lucky for them, Alec seemed to be swallowing pretty well.

Magnus lifted the cooling effect, and quickly bent over Alec, inspecting him in various places. His heart sank, as Alec seemed to be unconscious, but wait, this wasn't supposed to be happening, would he lose the –

He took a deep breath, and checked Alec's vitals. His heart seemed to be fine, lungs, and yes, liver, yes it was all good. There was only one other answer, and one that he had been dreading: a coma.

Magnus turned back around to the expectant faces. He took another quick breath, and shoved his shaking hands into his pockets. "Poison's out, but I don't really know what happens next. It seems to be a coma, but I can't say yet. Set up a rotation, and make sure you watch over him. I assume I can borrow a guest room, as I'm not leaving this place yet."

Both Jace and Isabelle looked absolutely dead. Clary and Simon were gaping at him, with the redhead almost bursting into tears. Maryse looked composed, but everyone who knew her knew that she was on the verge of passing out.

Magnus was drained, mentally and physically. Walking around the Institute randomly, he found a guest room, and crumpled on the bed. Distantly, he could hear Maryse's voice echoing, and it sounded suspiciously like: "We knew the risks of doing it."

With a heavy heart filled with lead, he fell asleep, just like that.

* * *

He woke up to a piercing shriek that echoed though the marble walls of the institute. Someone was hollering off the top of her (his?) lungs. He stood up, and pushed the creaky door open, glancing down the empty hallway. Halfway down the stairwell, Jace appeared. "Alec's awake." He panted.

Magnus' eyes widened, and took off, Jace leading the way. They stopped right before the infirmary, just enough to catch their breath back. Hesitatingly, Magnus pushed the wooden door open, to see Isabelle fussing over Alec like a mother hen. Taking two big steps, he arrived next to the bedside.

* * *

 _A good hour prior:_

Isabelle was on the rota for watching over her brother. Jace had just walked in her room looking on the verge of collapsing, and told her that it was her time for watch. Blearily, she staggered down the stairs, taking a quick look at the time.

Five in the morning. Not that she slept at all, with the state that her brother was in. Although the whole house was deadly quiet, she could feel the tension, and knew that with the exception of Magnus, no one would be able to sleep.

At around midnight, she had heard a quiet knocking at her door. It opened to reveal Max; clutching his favourite toy soldier that Jace gave him in one hand, and Alec's stele in the other. She turned on the light, making them both blink furiously.

"Izzy. Will Alec be all right?" He said, his young face lined with worry.

Isabelle forced a smile, and ushered Max under her bed covers. After a long while, Max fell asleep, and then Maryse came in and carried Max back into his own room.

Focusing back on Alec, his breathing was all right, and all his vitals were fine. He was muttering, but quickly subsided. She had almost dozed off, wanting to wait a little longer, and to give Magnus a little more of a buffer zone, considering how much energy he had used up a day, when Alec let out a groan and grabbed Isabelle's arm. Alec opened his eyes, lips moving, trying to speak.

"Alec!" She shrieked. "Are you all right? How are you feeling? Do you feel sick? Can you move? I need to go get –"

And then she ran out, yelling randomly upstairs at Jace to get Magnus, _Alec's awake,_ _ **speed the hell up**_ _, yes, he's in the guest room on the right hand side, I don't know, just knock on the doors, for goddamn's sake._

She frowned, recalling that Magnus said that Alec should be in a coma. She shrugged that thought off, relieved that Alec was conscious. Running back to Alec, and leaning directly over him, her hair tickling Alec's face, she slapped Alec's cheekbone lightly.

"Alec? Alec! Stay with me! No, no, no, Alec!"

She turned back round, and promptly collided into Magnus, with Jace and Maryse right behind him. A few seconds later, Simon came down the stairs, glasses and hair all askew, dragging Clary down by the hand. Isabelle felt a small pang of jealousy, but her worry of Alec smothered that feeling.

"He just woke up, but I think that he's back into it."

Just when Isabelle finished her sentence, Alec stirred and opened his eyes. Everyone instantly crowded around him, but still giving Magnus the most space.

"Alec, darling!" Magnus said. "Are you feeling alright?"

Alec looked genuinely confused.

"Um. Sorry for being rude, but, who are you?"

His reply elicited horrified gasps from all his friends and family, all of whom were staring at him with their mouths wide open.

Magnus felt his heart fall, down onto the cold marble beneath him, and felt it shatter into a fine powder of glass crystals.

Alec had forgotten him.

* * *

 **A few hundred more words here than usual to help fill in the short-ness of the last chapter, although because I needed to cut the story into parts, it just had to be there. I kinda didn't want to use the typical 'coma' situation, so I changed it a little.**

 **By the way, it's not amnesia.**

 **Anyway. Review/Favs/Follows are love~!**

 **And like the end of the last chapter, a basket full of cookies [(::) (::)] for them nice folks out there who review~!**


	5. Part V - Blinded Profiles

**Now. DO NOT WORRY, FOR ALEC DOES NOT HAVE AMNESIA. IT WOULD BE TOO BORING.**

 **THANK YOU TO Angel of FRIVOLOUS CAKES818, FOR REVIEWING MOST OF MY CHAPTERS. **

**I've decided to include little snippets of Sizzy, as I may be spinning off of it? Maybe? idunno.**

 **~ClarissaAisling**

* * *

Alec woke up and groggily opened his eyes. He had no idea why he was here. Wait. Where had he been? Right. It was a Raum demon. And then he jumped on top of Jace, and probably got poisoned and such.

He took a look at the people surrounding his bed. There was a slim woman with black hair, a girl that looked the same but had brown eyes, a boy that looked like an avenging angel, a redheaded girl and a boy around her age with brown hair and a pair of black-rimmed glasses.

And there was the matter of, on closer inspection, a warlock, bent over him. Oddly enough, that warlock just called him 'darling' which was bizarre because – because?

"Um. Sorry for being rude, but uh, who are you?" Everyone looked completely flabbergasted. They were gaping at him like fish; mouths wide open. Alec got the distinct impression that he knew these people, but however hard he reached for those answers he knew were inside, they simply evaded his fumbling and clumsy fingers.

"Alec, do you remember what happened?" The angel-boy asked.

"I was out hunting demons with – with you. And then I think I jumped on top because I saw a Raum demon coming? I – know you, but I can't recognise you. It's in there, somehow, but I can't – it won't come out!"

The warlock sighed with relief. "I thought you had amnesia. Thank god. But. I think. Can you tell me things about Magnus Bane?"

"He – loves colour. And glitter. Um. He has a very irritating cat, called – c-called Chairman Meow?" What else? "He's the High Warlock of Brooklyn, lost his keys fifteen years ago, I distinctly remember both of us dating. His bed sheets are always neon coloured. We fought together in the mortal war." Alec went pink. "And I think I kissed him in front of the whole Clave."

Magnus looked confused. "I am Magnus Bane."

Alec looked hysterical. " _I remember everything, and my knowledge is perfectly fine, but I don't_ _know_ _you!"_

Alec's gaze moved on to the other girl, the regal princess. He knew her. Alec's lips were forming words silently, all the time focused on her face.

He knew her. Guessing out of all of the people here, she would be his sister. His sister's name was Isabelle. That girl standing there must be Isabelle.

"You're. Isabelle." Alec stated hesitatingly.

The girl nodded. The warlock spoke again.

"I'm going to call my friend, who is a healer. Now, while she travels here, I want each and every one of you, except Alec, to introduce yourselves again." He turned his gaze towards Alec. "Alec. I want you to try to remember most of their faces."

* * *

After speaking patiently to Alec, Isabelle ran after Magnus. She needed to know what happened to Alec. Patiently, she waited after he had finished his call.

"Magnus. What happened to Alec?" Isabelle needed to know.

Magnus looked around, and making sure no one was eavesdropping, he replied. "I don't want you to tell anyone else, especially not Alec. He's already having a hard time with this, and I don't want any more pressure onto him. I suspect that he has a type of trauma induced memory loss. Catarina is coming. I assume you remember her? Catarina Loss. Memory problems are her forte. Although I'm not sure if this can be healed easily."

Isabelle's eyelashes fluttered, and then, with a swish of midnight hair, she walked back into the institute. She couldn't believe this was happening. The chances of a Raum demon injecting poison were minimal. But, she thought with a grim smile, probability was probability, and no one could beat maths.

She walked in on Simon and Clary sitting together on a couch. Isabelle could see how happy the redhead made him, and it made her bitter, so very bitter. She couldn't believe how Simon could just continually deceive himself, and how Clary could just keep hurting her best friend in this way.

She could feel that persistent tug on her heartstrings. Isabelle hated it. She had never fallen in love, and ever since she could, she had flunked her way through a queue of boys, throwing them out like stained paper cups after a party without a second look back.

And then this boy _,_ no, this _mundane_ came along, and the peace of her perfect world was broken. At the start, when they first met, she had no interest in him, but then, as time went past, she began to notice bits and pieces of his soul.

Simon's eyes flickered up for a split second as Isabelle passed and, in order to ward herself from being hurt again, she tossed her hair, lifted her chin, and walked straight past without once glancing at him.

If only she'd turned back, she'd have seen the disappointment in Simon's eyes.

* * *

Simon breathed, and made his resolve. He'd find Isabelle later.

"Clary." The redhead turned back to him, but he was facing away.

"I think that we both know that you don't love me. I think we should break this off before it's too deep." Clary opened her mouth to protest.

Simon cut her off. "You belong with Jace." He said, and swiftly stood up. He was going to find Isabelle, but seeing Magnus walk back in, followed by a blue skinned lady with snow-white hair.

Everyone quickly gathered, and, Catarina, a nurse down to the core, asked a few short questions, and started muttering to herself.

Magnus started fidgeting. "So? What is it?"

Catarina gave the answer, short, and straight to the point. "It's called Prosopagnosia, a more specific form of Agnosia. It is commonly called face-blindness. The patient can't recognise familiar people from their faces. This is something that I shouldn't tamper with. Caused by trauma, and damage to the ventral stream."

"While this can't actually be healed, Alec can get better. All you need to do, Alec, is connect a voice, a gait, or a colour to a person. Take Jace. You might recognise Jace with his hair. Obviously, Jace's is easy to recognise. Take some time now to identify a person with his or her characteristics."

Everyone was relieved that it wasn't as serious as a memory defect, but this would still take quite a bit of work to get over this obstacle. Simon was wondering what characteristic would be most obvious for him, as there wasn't anything particular about him. Jace and Clary would be hair colour; Magnus would probably his glitter, love of colours and his cat eyes.

He went and sat in front of Alec.

"What do you think would make you recognise me?"

Alec's mouth twisted up in a half-smile.

"Your terrible taste in t-shirts."

* * *

 **Right. I assure you, there will be MagnusXAlec moments next chapter. I've got the structure for that one almost laid out.**

 **Favs/Reviews/Follows are love~! (::) _[By now you should know my custom.]_**

 **ClarissaAisling**


	6. Part VI - Tainted Desperations

**Right. Thank you to the new reviews and favs from readers, and finally, a little bit more MagnusXAlec. More will come, okay, but in later chapters. There's some SimonXIzzy, definitely that, but no ClaryXJace moments, because, seriously, I absolutely despise Clary, which is weird, because my name is really close to that...**

 **~ClarissaAisling**

* * *

After assuring himself that this man in front of him was actually Magnus,

 _[Magnus = glitter, cat eyes]_

they cuddled together under a blanket in Alec's bed. Magnus was staying temporarily at the Institute, and that news was met with raised eyebrows and stifled snickers. Maryse personally dragged Magnus and Alec in a random room, and warned them to lock the room if they were to be doing _things_.

Alec giggled, remembering the expression on his mom's face when she said that to them. It was an _"I have no interest in walking in on you two gentlemen, and I'd prefer if someone like Jace or Max were not to see it."_

Magnus kissed Alec lightly on the lips. "What's so funny?"

Alec tilted his head to face Magnus. "I'm just wondering what my mom would be like if we _accidentally_ were to forget to close the door." With a look of alarm, he amended his previous sentence. "Not that I mean we should do it!"

"Ooooh, how would I ever think about doing such a scandalous thing?" Magnus left the warm blanket, and reached for the doorknob.

Alec let out a yelp, and pulled Magnus back, albeit a little too much on the power side. They both ended up tumbling back on the bed, both of them squished on Alec's side.

Moments like this just had to end. Alec's face scrunched up in a perplexed expression, and then cleared. But Magnus acutely understood what just occurred, and quickly rolled away, facing the wall, and away from Alec.

Alec stretched his hand out, and laid it on Magnus' back. "I'm sorry. I get bouts like this. Magnus, are you angry?" Alec asked desperately.

"No." Came the muffled reply. "I'm just so tired."

Alec sighed, and buried his head in the crook of Magnus' shoulder, and they both went to sleep like that, a half-smile on Magnus' face.

* * *

"Alec! Lace!" Jace turned his head, yelling backwards. It was a code word the three of them, along with Isabelle, had made up, an efficient combat move that was both unexpected and highly destructive.

Seeing Alec face back towards himself, and he was able to do so with Isabelle tearing a path through the last of the demons, back towards Alec, taking on the brunt of the demons, Jace took a step back, and sprinted with all his might, leaping the last step closest to Alec. He landed on Alec's outstretched palms that had both hands laced together, with one foot, and sprung, drawing his dagger halfway.

Alec let out a roar, and with a tremendous flexibility, body bent backward, he lifted his hands behind his head, successfully launching Jace straight in the air. Alec was the springboard, and Jace the gymnast, allowing Jace what they called flight.

It was as if time stopped for that one moment. Jace flew in the air, body shaped as an arc. Legs bent at the knees, the arm holding the dagger extended over his head, the other stretched out straight, helping with balancing his weight in mid-flight. His torso was pushed outwards, every fiber of his being alighting in a dazzling flame. The gold curls of his hair was accented with the white light filtering through the roof, and Jace, falling in an arc, brought the dagger into the remaining Ravener demon with a yell.

Then, after a mild pause, Jace walked towards Alec, who was standing there with Isabelle, and was ready to clap him on the back, when he realised that Alec was looking at him oddly, trying to get away from him, then abruptly doing an about-face, looking back at Jace with an apologetic look.

 _[_ _Jace = golden hair and eyes, sarcastic]_

"I'm sorry. Just, I get bouts like this, and it's hard to see your face a – as a complete feature, I – you know what, let's just go back" Alec spun on his heel and ran out the deserted building, with Jace and Isabelle following right behind.

* * *

At around 3 in the afternoon, Isabelle heard a hesitant knock at her door. Putting away her mascara, among other things like eyeshadow and her phone, she pushed herself off the bed to open the door.

She paused with her hand hovering over the handle. "Who is it?"

"Alec. And Jace will be coming down here soon." Footsteps sounded, seemingly coming down the stairs.

 _[Isabelle = gait, hair, expression]_

Isabelle opened her door, and they all ended up sitting on her bed, not a person saying anything. Jace was first to break the silence.

"So. Alec. Why did you ask both of us here?"

Alec took a deep breath and spoke.

"I want to stop going hunting with you two."

Seeing the two both opening their mouths to protest, he held up a hand for silence. "Look. I've got this face-blindness thing. So say we are right at a crucial moment in a fight, and then I hesitate for one second, because _I can't goddamn recognise you,_ and everything goes right down the drain, and you are injured, dead, coma'd, like me, lots of consequences on that."

Jace paused, mouth open like he was going to say something, and then thought better of it. "While I know that this is for the sake of us two, being your _parabatai,_ I somehow think that you would end up going alone, as you'd probably not stay at the institute forever."

" _And this is the problem._ While you've covered our backs, you get injured the most. Now, I've realised this a long time ago, but never wanted to talk about it. You are tainted with a sense of desperation, and honestly, do you even actually realise that?"

Isabelle thought back to the many, many hunts she had gone on, and realised with a blinding clarity that Jace was right. Alec, her self-conscious, apologetic brother had always sought some way to prove himself, but also to hide himself far, far away from people, who would turn away from him because of his loves.

"You never truly cared what happened to you, and while you may worry about safety, it is, and has always been our safety first. Now. You can go hunting, but you have to come back."

Isabelle stepped into the conversation. "You have to come back. For us. For mom. For Magnus, for Clary, even for Simon. Hell, even for Dad. I still don't like it, and I'd very much like it better if you were to still come along with us, but I'll concede this time."

Isabelle visibly brightened. "Maybe you could help out Clary with her studies and combat techniques as well as going hunting."

Alec just gave her a look, trying to cover up his embarrassment. "That was like the worst job you could give me unintentionally."

Isabelle was confused. "Give?"

Alec rolled his eyes. "You should tell Jace to quit hunting and just be Clary's professional tutor. She'd love it." Sobering up, he continued. "But yes. I will try to help Clary, and also, _you two had better not get injured while I'm not there, my dear younger siblings._ "

After that, they spent the rest of the evening talking about recent things, ranging from relationships to weapons, to restaurants, and even assassinations.

Both Alec and Jace later walked out Isabelle's room, faces on fire with embarrassment, wishing that they'd never gone in it in the first place. Clary came up to them and asked what happened, but Jace, Jace simply went back into his room, the expression on his face masking his hurt, the unanswered question lingering in his mind.

* * *

 **Right. How's this for a chapter? SimonXIzzy's next~!**

 _ **IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY, THERE ARE QUITE A BIT REFERENCES TO ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM, I thought I'd mention!**_

 **Reviews, Favs, Follows are love~! (::) (::)**

 ***Oooh, and by the way, the most you can expect of me of ClaryXJace is a 5-second moment, and a tiny reference in a paragraph. XD**


	7. Part VII - Confession

**RIGHT! New chapter! Sorry for not posting for so long, just recently got into school, and procrastinating alot...  
** **Sizzy. That's my summary of this chapter.**

* * *

Simon hated hesitating. But he also hated confessing. He didn't know how it would end up, and look at what happened between him and Clary. Burying his head in his hands, he proceeded to think this through, not so subtly making pained expressions.

This being the reason, he stood in front of Isabelle's door for a good ten minutes, until Magnus passed by and gave him a shove.

The warlock whispered in his ear:

 _"Accept the things to which fate binds you to, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart."_

And then knocked on Isabelle's door for him.

Simon let out a yelp, and glared in mortifying embarrassment at Magnus. If Magnus had been anyone but Magnus, the laser sharpness of Simon's scowl would have him pinned straight to the back wall.

All the warlock did was erase his presence, giving Simon one final thumbs-up and a smirk, mouthing the words 'good luck'. Simon continued to glower at the spot Magnus had occupied previously, and that was the exact inopportune moment when Isabelle chose to open the door.

"What're you glaring at?"

Simon snapped out of his death glare and faced back, and felt that he could simply die of awkwardness. Isabelle was looking at him like an intruder, a chiselled sculpture of cold beauty.

"I – Could I just come into your room for a minute? There's something I want to talk to you about."

Isabelle narrowed her eyes, but still let him in without a word. She quickly plonked down on her bed, while Simon remained standing.

Not looking at her, Simon started. "I think that you should know that Clary and I aren't going out anymore. And while I'm not going to ask you out right after I just broke up, because, then, what sort of sleazebag would I be? But I would like you to know that I kinda, well you should be able to guess – I'll be leaving now, sorry for disturbing."

And then promptly fled from the room, leaving a stunned Isabelle sitting there, pondering all that Simon had just said.

Simon stood outside Isabelle's door and leaned against the wall. He groaned, and squatted down pensively, his brain just done with catching up with to his mouth. He put his hands to his face, feeling the sweltering heat on his cheeks, and then felt like he needed to go and stick his face into something so that Magnus wouldn't come up and ask how it went.

Walking back into his temporary room in the Institute, he faceplanted on his bed, imagining Isabelle's anger and disappointment drill into his back.

 _Seriously, Simon, what the hell was that?_ _Did you just say that you were going to ask her out, and then immediately say that you weren't going to ask her out because then you'd be a sleazebag!? Oh my god. What were you thinking?_

 _WHAT. WERE. YOU. THINKING!?_

He just hoped he would be able to have dinner without spending the whole time with his head down and his face ablaze.

Oh, man, he really, really hoped.

* * *

Isabelle was stunned. But she was also confused. What did Simon mean by, _"But I would like you to know that I kinda – well you should be able to guess"_ because, no, she had no ability to guess, beside one possibility, but she didn't want to be too hopeful, unless what Simon meant wasn't what she thought he –.

Her head hurt.

She thought to herself. _"I always thought that I was immune to ever falling in love, but my heart was easily pierced."_

She was finding him cuter and cuter, and it was killing her. She just hoped that she could get over dinner without doing something idiotic.

 _Around 2 hours later:_

They all sat down around the living room and dining room of the Institute. Isabelle was resisting the urge to glance up at Simon while she was eating, but god, the atmosphere was terrible.

Jace was still heartbroken and sore because of Clary, while Clary and Simon had just broken up, and were now feeling incredibly awkward around each other. Magnus had gone back into his apartment for some clients, and Alec was just plain uncomfortable without the glittery warlock, not wanting to remind everyone else about his 'problem'. Simon was trying very hard not to die of embarrassment as being in the same room as Isabelle, while she herself was attempting to deduce what Simon had said to her.

All in all, dinner was heavy and suffocating.

Isabelle stood up, strode over to Simon, dragged him out, and into her room. She was going to collapse from uncertainty, and thought that it was better to drown now of heartbreak than to be forever undefined.

She folded her arms together and gave him one of her signature glares. Feeling his uneasiness radiate off him like flurries of flaming fire sparks, she softened her gaze.

"Simon. What was that last sentence about?"

Simon squirmed under her gaze and looked over her shoulder. "You should be able to understand, I mean, I would think that you'd have the most, uh, experience? Is that the correct word? Wait, why am I even talking to myself?"

He groaned, facing away from her. "This is awesome. F-forget what I just said." Simon then sidestepped to leave, but Isabelle, not wanting to be kept in the dark, grabbed his sweaty palm, and pulled him back.

Isabelle pleaded with him. "Simon, just tell me. Bluntly. Now."

Simon was fighting with himself. He was suffocating at not being to have his feelings in the open, but also afraid at what was to come. He then remembered what Magnus had said.

Time, place, being seen by others, it didn't matter anymore. All he needed was, for once, to wear his delicate heart on the fabric of his sleeve, and just get his feelings across to the most beautiful person now in his life, that was so close, a few words and a whisper away.

"I like you, okay?"

Isabelle was left breathless. She had wanted to hear those few words for so long. Here was this boy that had just confessed to her, and said that he loved her. And most of all, he was gentle and shy, the complete opposite of the boys she had known and gone out with all her life.

"Okay." She whispered. "I do too."

Simon's eyes grew wide and he blushed. "Really?"

"Then, c-can you go out with me?"

"Yes. But keep this a secret for the time being, okay? You don't want to be a-a what did you call it? A sleazebag?"

Simon took one abrupt step forward, and put his arms around a startled Isabelle, hugging her close to him. He breathed in her scent, vanilla and lemongrass. Here she was, and she fit, perfectly with him. He broke the hug, and left, going back into the dining room, whispering one final thing into her ear.

"I just want you to be happy, okay?"

* * *

 **Hmmm. Just to be a filler for the storyline? I dunno.**

 **More hints from different mangas~! (::) (::) (Assassination Classroom, Kaichou wa Maid-sama)**

 **Please please review/fav/follow~! [Danke]**


	8. Part VIII - Love, Tears, Lattices

**Okay. This is going to be the second-to-last chapter. I feel like the storylines of the day-to-day actions are coming to a close, and this chapter is the closest I will step into the territory of ClaryXJace, so please forgive me, those who ship them.**

 **Thanks again to _Angel of FRIVOLOUS CAKES818_ , and _bessie-loves-malec_ for reviewing each chapter!**

 **Oh, and by the way. MY MAGNUSXALEC AND SIMONXIZZY SHIP HAS SAILED~!**

* * *

Witnessing your brother kissing another girl is weird enough, not considering the fact that it is often even worse when you yourself don't even happen to like girls.

 _[Clary = redhead, freckles, green eyes]_

And so, Alec wished that he hadn't decided to choose this path down to the weaponry. That reminded him of something. If Jace was, well, _sort of going out with_ Clary, which meant that Simon must have broken up with Clary. Being an exceptional older brother with an exceptional talent for reading facial expressions, Alec realised that while Isabelle tried to hide it, she actually liked Simon, and for a very long time.

He frowned, getting irritated at Clary for hurting three people at the same time, and still acting like the victim. To be blunt, Clary was one of those people that he could probably never warm to in his entire life, but, if it was for Jace's sake, and that his brother would get back to his usual self, he'd gladly live with it.

 _Through Isabelle's view:_

Oddly enough, the next day saw Jace and Clary acting civilised. Isabelle sorely hoped that either Jace was over her, or that Clary would stop being a b*tch, and that her brother would quickly go back to his original self.

She had just been pondering this when she was just unlucky enough to see Jace and Clary sucking each other's face off, making her gag, and to quickly stumble to the nearest empty room. While she didn't like Clary, if she made her brother happy, she'd swallow every nasty insult and just let them be. Although, she'd prefer if they'd just go and get a room, coz, seriously, watching your own brother kissing some other girl is really awkward.

Giving a quick shake of her head, she proceeded to continue walking, until realising that Alec was standing there, trying to smother a strangled sound. She was pretty sure that Alec had just seen what she did, and a smirk found its way onto her face.

Not realising though, that Alec was looking at her the exact same way that she was at him. Well, after all, they _were_ siblings.

"Izzy. You happy now?"

"I – wait what? I don't get what you – don't tell me you _knew all this time_?" Isabelle said, voice rising into an embarrassed shriek. Dragging Alec's arm into the next available free room, one without Jace and Clary, she attempted to glare at him. "Let's bring this inside."

* * *

Magnus was realising that Isabelle was giving Alec half-hearted dirty looks all day, and so he dragged his Shadowhunter aside to ask. They both sat in Magnus' room, having the occasional thing being taken from his actual apartment.

Magnus nuzzled Alec's nose with his own.

"You're so cute. Why's Isabelle giving you dirty looks all day?"

"I asked her about Simon, and now she hates me for it, as she says, that she can't focus on her life now."

"Simon? So, are they like officially going out? I mean, no offense, it's not like I don't like Clary, but she _did_ just make everyone's life harder, so, I'm kinda waiting for Clary to just get together with Jace, and so we can all just relax."

Alec groaned, punching Magnus lightly. "You won't _believe_ what I saw today. Jace and Clary were sucking each other's faces off in a room, with a door that they did not close. I just don't get Clary! She just – she's hurting three people at the same time, and still acts like the victim, just, urgh."

Magnus decided Alec was too cute for his own good, and quickly cupped his face and kissed him on the lips. Alec responded with the same enthusiasm, pulling Magnus down, running his hands into Magnus' hair. Magnus saw fireworks exploding behind his eyes, feeling the deep love he had for this beautiful blue-eyed boy.

They broke apart, gasping for air, Alec looking mildly embarrassed, and Magnus still in the moment. They really needed to do this more often.

* * *

Jace really was living a totally average day. And now it was a totally average evening. Well, it didn't count the fact that Clary had just broken up with Simon, and had dragged him in a room, and had kissed him, and well, had decided to go out with him, and had –

He needed to chill out. So here he was, cleaning weapons in the weaponry, checking out supplies in the infirmary, cleaning out old cupboards, and generally trying to steer Isabelle away from the kitchen.

And then Simon came rushing in, panting, and holding his hands on his knees.

"Have you seen Alec?"

"Alec? No? Why?"

"He's not answering his phone. And Isabelle's gone off, trying to find him. She…kinda stalked out. Alec's gonna be in a huge trouble when he gets back."

Jace was more worried than he would usually be. Were there any side effects that they didn't know of yet since his last injury? And, he remembered telling Alec about not going hunting on his own. Well, not that his ever-stubborn brother would listen, but, hey, he really needed to know where Alec was.

Jace was scrabbling around for gear, ready to go and find Alec himself. Didn't one aspect of Agnosia include forgetting places and roads? Simon was just standing there, knowing that this could be serious.

"Simon. Just stay here, and if Mom or Magnus comes back, tell them that we're out trying to find Alec." Simon nodded.

And that was the moment that the doorbell rang.

Both of them sprinted down the bare corridor, Jace out front. They stopped in front of the door, not sure what to do. Simon shrugged, and pulled the door open, then releasing the door handle in shock.

Isabelle was standing there, practically in tears, holding her mobile in one hand and her stele in the other. She stood there, face scrunched up, as a teardrop rolled down the curves of her cheeks, and fell onto the cold marble of the Institute.

Simon was first to speak. "Did – did you find him?"

Isabelle nodded, willing herself not to start crying her heart out.

"Then, uh, why isn't he here yet?"

Her lower lip trembled. "He wouldn't come back. He didn't know who I was!"

Just then, both Simon and Jace saw Alec running up the grass to the Institute.

"I – Alec!"

Isabelle's eyes widened, and she turned her head to confirm that. Alec, seeing how much panic he had caused the others, and seeing his sister cry for the first time in years, slowed to a dead stop. He felt a stab in his heart, feeling the pain he had caused her fluctuate in himself.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered, voice cracking, feeling another tear and cut inside him, this time of guilt, knowing that he could have prevented all this by not being so defensive.

Isabelle flung herself in his arms, crying freely. "I'm so sorry." He said again, desperation and pain lacing his words. He tucked her close to himself, wrapping his arms around her.

He could feel her fear, the fear of being forgotten by the ones you love, knowing them, but only to have them staring at back at you with blank eyes, not recalling you in the tangled web of their memories. He sees all of that, and he hates himself for it. He can feel that by the way she's trembling, the way that she's clutching at him, the way that she's now sobbing openly, rawly onto his chest. His heart cracks, his blood, his tears pooling in the ravine of his eyes, as they finally flow over, onto his cheeks, travelling down, dripping off at the end of his nose.

He tightens his hold on her, keening, lamenting, their tears collecting together in a mix of sorrow and blinding pain. "I'm so sorry!" The ends of his words break off, as he takes his sister's face between his palms, eyes searching her face frantically. His eyes are full of remorse, full of the love to that lost identity that was, and still is, in a twisted way, his sister.

"Can you forgive me?" He whispers to her. "Can you forgive me?"

She smiles back through her tears, feeling her heart ache for him the way it does when she can see him slipping, back through the lattice of his remembrance, down into the lonely and lost world below.

She breathes lightly. "I can."

* * *

 **Hmmm. Please review/fav/follow.**

 **I really want to know what all you darling readers thought about this chapter. I tried to go for a good descriptive ending, really want some comments on that.**

 **(::) (::) Cookies for all~! XD**


	9. Part IX - Façades & Illusions

**Ah! My darling story's coming to an end. It's spanned 3 months and 15 days, and while I would have liked to make it have 10 parts, this was what I had planned, with a (hopefully!) good ending. Interestingly enough, the entire document on my mac has exactly 10,000 words, not counting any of the ANs and stuff like that.**

 **Thank you to all that left a trace, whether through reviewing, favoriting, or following:** **  
** _Angel of FRIVOLOUS CAKES818, bessie-loves-malec, BooksBeforeLife, RetroNick, paozinho, vhs, BlazingFlames22, travellove99, Ayumi Tamashi, Lindsey7618AwesomeasPercabeth, MadBooksHatter01, MrsMalecBane, Nitany, Oregongirl1992, Queyra, ShiraYuki95, Slytherin Princezz1992, SupernaturalGirl51799, VAbuckeye12, dizzy101, linlavernynz, moviesgalore1, BooksAndMusicAreLife, Clace13, Cris Elladan, GingerRavenclaw, Lanidays, LaughingFish36, Maddygirl76, My Beautiful Dream, MysteriousCupcake, Natalie Krajch, OneWorldAway, Papasbookworm, Raefire, Song of a Nightingale, hockeycrazy7, lilybradley1, yarnbag, BookLoverTillTheEndX_ _xXx, GreekMithology._

 **A shoutout to my real-life friends,** _ChloeDCrystal, and Margaret Barrie,_ ** _thanks for the support, and please check them out, they're great too!_**

 **~ClarissaAisling**

* * *

Alec rolled over under his blanket. He really couldn't sleep, couldn't get the image of Isabelle crying out of his head. He was such a terrible brother. He could have just been less defensive, but it had been hammered into him from a young age, ever since he found out that he liked boys.

He flipped over, and padded quietly outside. 4:34 AM. He shivered, feeling the cold without his blanket. To his surprise, Simon was still outside, sitting on the couch, staring at the TV without focusing.

 _[Simon = t-shirts, black glasses, tousled hair]_

"Simon?" Simon turned his head around and stared at Alec with blank eyes.

"Uh, Simon? You look like you're gonna die."

Simon shook himself out of his stupor. "Just feeling a little insecure, nothing much."

Alec grinned. "You worrying about how you should approach Isabelle?"

His grin faded as he remembered the past day's events, and there was another stab in his heart. "Just – be better to her than I am these days. Treat her preciously; she's special, all gold and diamonds and silver, but she's always been doubtful of herself. Oh, and about approaching her? Just be you. If you do hurt her, and I mean this, as an older brother, you'd have to worry about ever coming back to the institute, no, ever _living_ here again in New York, for you will end up with three incredibly well trained Shadowhunters hot on your trail."

Alec sat down on the plushy next to Simon. "Can I please ask you, in the case that I forget someone again, to bring me outside and talk to me? I can't ask Isabelle, she'd start crying if that happened, Jace would insist that nothing would go wrong, and I don't even remotely know Clary."

Tears pooled again in his clear blue eyes, a pale washed-out colour in the darkness.

"Just promise me that, will you? I – don't want to hurt – anyone anymore!"

Simon gave a sombre nod, and they both turned back to the silent TV screen, still playing in the dusky morning.

* * *

Alec held out the recorder on his phone discreetly, pen flashing across the notebook where he was archiving individual aspects, personalities, and appearances of the people he knew. He was currently working on Isabelle, detailing her passion, her beauty, her doubts, and her fragmented façade that she took down only with Simon.

He sighed, wondering about the different masks and displays, illusions, the members of his household put on day-to-day. Alec himself knew that for him, it was because he had known about his father's aversion towards homosexual people, and his desire to please his father, in hope of lessening the blow if, no, when, he found out.

Isabelle, it seemed, with her fear of boys, stemmed from his mother's breakdown, and his father's affair. Maryse had completely melted down, as Alec had never seen before, crying and screaming. And Robert had just stood there, saying that he had done so because he didn't love her anymore, and that he was ready to leave. It must have splintered her heart; Alec knew that Maryse still loved her husband, but when Robert turned for the first time in a decade to leave, Maryse fell to her knees, and with her head down, she clutched Robert's hand and whispered the only thing that would keep Robert from disappearing with another woman.

"I'm pregnant."

Six years later, after Isabelle had turned 6, Alec had overheard Maryse talking to Isabelle, to 'beware the wolves'. Since then, she had gone through a train of boys, never taking them or herself, even, seriously, never coming home before three in the morning, never leaving the clubs sober and clear-headed.

It had hurt him to watch his beautiful and delicate sister never finding a gentle and selfless boy for her. He was glad that Simon was here, he was the kind of boy that would wait for you to take the first little baby step, considerate and hesitant. Although he did threaten Simon with the 'if you hurt my sister', but he didn't think Simon would be able to do that. He was too sensitive a boy for that.

Jace was interesting. It was probably because of how he was brought up, that changed his mind, bending and twisting the threads. He had never really offered much about his previous life, and it seemed that he was an attention-seeker. Living with him for a longer period of time proved Alec wrong. Girls flaunted and flirted, but like Isabelle, while Jace did go out with them, his attention never really stayed on one girl, until, obviously, Clary came. The 'mundane' blasted a hole through Jace's façade, and stood there stoically, watching it all come down, as if she expected it already. She was the first girl to see who Jace really was, and while she irritated Alec, he knew that she was it for Jace.

While Alec had been pondering all this, a warm arm slid across his shoulder, and a peck landed on his cheek. His heart flipped, as it always did whenever it came to Magnus.

"Dinner time!"

Jace and Clary came back, lips swollen, carrying 3 huge pizza boxes and a practical sack of drinks and snacks. They set them down on the table, yelling at the house in general, Clary looking a little apologetic for 'disturbing' Alec and Magnus. Dinner began, and all that were in the house came rushing down, footsteps echoing down the stairwells.

"Cheers!"

And while the others' focused on the dinner in front, Alec's thoughts were a mile away, seeing movements and hearing noises all around him, but his mind and consciousness were musing over his current life.

He wouldn't ever fully recover, and Izzy would never stop being apprehensive, but they had each other, and it was all they needed. His parents wouldn't ever love themselves in the same way, but they would grow to respect one another. All you needed was friends to support you, family to stay through your whirlwind of emotions, to cry in sorrow, and to laugh through the hard times.

He wished that Magnus would stay by his side forever, although knowing that even if he promised that, Alec would be the one to leave first, the one to break that vow. Up until now, he still wondered why Magnus had chose him out of all others, couldn't believe that he had that glamorous personality, that stunning uniqueness that belonged to no one but Magnus himself, couldn't believe that he was _going out_ with him at all.

Magnus saw Alec space out, and he kissed him on his forehead and lightly squeezed his hand, which roused his beautiful darling boy out of his absent-mindedness.

He turned to Alec's ear and whispered quietly. "What are you thinking about?"

Alec turned his face around to Magnus, with that soft but radiant smile that Magnus loved so much, deep in his heart.

"Us. You."

* * *

 **Wow. That's the end. I'm getting that feeling again, the one where when you are at the end of a one-and-only kind of event, and you realise that that's that.**

 **Hope all you dear readers enjoyed the last update, as some sort of concluding epilogue thing. Hey, even if this is the last, please, please don't forget to Review/Fav/Follow, and as I always say, (::) and love to all those that did!**

 **DFTBA!**

 **Love, ClarissaAisling**


	10. Epilogue Part I - Destiny: Alec

**I've abandoned all of my darling readers. I'm so sorry. People have asked for an epilogue, but I decided to transfer my (and my friends) thoughts into this short one-shot, although it is connected to the story.**

 **~ClarissaAisling**

* * *

It's that moment when sparks of colours flash by in front of your eyes, and you know that they're it for you.

That one blinding moment of love that hits you so hard you're left freezing and breathless in the white snow.

The almost uncontrollable urge that takes you over to hug them from behind, or to just feel them sitting next to you, shoulder to shoulder, barely touching.

The simple impulse you have to bury your face into their hoodie just to breathe in their scent, in an attempt to memorize him forever, within your senses.

When you feel your gazing wondering around the room, lost, until you catch that one sight of them, and the rest of the world has blurred, with only that one person in focus.

And then he's sitting next to you, and then he gets up and the only thing you can think is that his hips are in your line of vision, and it's the first time it sinks in, how _incredibly hot he is._

The swish of his hair as he's looking down at his phone, the way your hearts flips when he smiles at you, and you can feel yourself getting warm, so red that you have to excuse yourself to the toilet although you didn't need it.

And then when he touches you, the electric sparks that sends shivers down you spine, but then he apologizes, and you're left standing, wondering if he'll ever feel the way you do.

From halfway across the room, he calls your name, and you, being your usual character; you stalk over to him and pose a demanding "what?" Everyone can see that you seem annoyed, but inside, your heart is melting and you simply can't think straight.

You're observing him with your friends, and the way his eyes crinkle and flatten into a line has you gasping for breath, wondering how he could be so beautiful.

It's that moment when sparks of colours flash by in front of your eyes, and you know that they're it for you.

The feeling when your soul collides with another, and you can feel the galaxies spinning, and your heart combusts like a shimmering supernova, and you've found your love.

And you've found your soulmate.

And you've found your destiny.

And you've found a reason to go on.

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 **~ClarissaAisling**


	11. Epilogue Part II - Waves: Isabelle

She gazes him from a distance far away, but close enough to touch.

She sees every bit about him; from the way he runs a hand through his brown hair, to the way his tongue pokes out slightly when he concentrates. She observes everything about him, even the littlest of details, like the pattern engraved on his black framed glasses, or the peculiar way he writes his own name, with the curves of the letter "S" barely visible, making the letter look like the letter "I".

She's gotten to know him well, and in that time, she finds him nicer, and kinder, and more caring than any other guy she's ever met. She likes to describe people with colours, and he has the brightest colours she's ever seen in someone. He's sunshine yellow, mixed with a pure snow white.

When he calls out her name, her heart flips, and she's been thrown onto a rollercoaster. When their hands touch accidentally, she feels electric sparks running down her spine, and she can't help but blush. She catches herself before she bends down into the hood of his jacket, just to breathe in his sweet scent.

She's having a normal, day-to-day conversation with him about the most uninteresting subject of all time – Clary, but she can feel herself getting red and flustered, and she excuses herself, saying that she was going to be late to this date that didn't exist. She smiles wryly to herself, thinking that she wouldn't ever need make-up blush again.

She captures snapshots of him, storing those pictures into the maze of her mind. When she feels lonely, she recalls those memories, and all the stress melts away. She can swear that he was her antidote, her medications.

She loves him for who he is, the loyal, attentive boy with the sweet and shy smile, always hanging, delicately, on his face. He listens, and he understands, and he always finds a way to comfort her when she's lost, or to applaud her when she's done well. She knows that she can trust him with anything, anything at all, but this secret of hers.

She treasures him, like how the poor farm girl treasures her beautiful bracelet.

But at the same time, she hates him.

She hates him for what he's done to her.

She tries, in vain, to stop the blinding pain that blasts a hole straight through her heart. He's the flame that sets of the pack of explosives strapped to her chest, the whetstone used to sharpen the dagger held to her throat. She tells herself that she doesn't care, and that there would be many others like him, and that she'd move on easily.

But she can't.

She watches him pine over a girl who'll never love him back; she watches him as he dreams about her, and she can feel her blood boiling. Couldn't he see that the girl would never love him back? His voice haunts her in her sleep, causing her to jerk awake, cold sweat all over her, before falling back into a dreamless nightmare.

She bleeds, despair and affection dissolved deeply into the crimson of her blood. Her room is filled with the soothing melody of love songs. Her books, her documents, lie scattered across the cold marble floor, where small piles grow into stacks and mountains, creating a no-man's-land in her room.

She sits there, on her bed, the tears in her eyes ruining the thick mascara she had just applied, moments before. The container of eye shadow has been knocked to the floor, the hot pink, baby blue and lime green all mixed together in a palette of coloured powder. She raises her chin up, the sunlight outside highlighting the angles of her jaw and high arched cheekbones. Black and silver ink flows down into a river, as it travels over the contours of her face.

She carries herself like a regal princess, but inside, she's burning, hot acid melting everything in its path. Her eyes are the windows to her soul, but she's blocked the stained glass windows with bars of wood and duct tape. She is as fragile as porcelain, shattering on impact. She is like a patchwork quilt, bits and pieces of her personality ripped out and stitched together again.

She despises him for being so naïve, for being so unfeeling, although it isn't his fault.

It isn't his fault that he doesn't love her back.

It isn't his fault either that another girl captured his heart.

But still, she stands, alone; trying to fan the dying embers of her heart back into the fire they once were, as the waves crash over her, plunging her into a world of ice-cold water. The sea is crystal clear, and she can still see the beautiful sun casting streaks of glitter on the surface.

It envelops her, and she sighs, letting go of her last breath, wondering how she could have ever let him in.


End file.
